Summer 2014 Update

Summer 2014 Update

Time for Phase 2 of the Docks Bylaw

What is Cape Roger Curtis like now? There is a dock at Lot 13. It broke apart in a mild early summer storm. There is a dock at Lot 11, Pebble Beach. It has been modified with additional pylons, presumably to reduce the likelihood of it falling apart, too. And there is a dock at Lot 15, the lighthouse. All of these docks are located in inappropriate locations, destroying the viewscape and harming the marine environment. No one lives on these properties. These are docks created for absentee owners. One more dock is permitted for Lot 6.

The dock at Lot 13 twisted and broke in a mild June storm.

Two docks at the Cape have been pending review since last summer. Another megadock application has been submitted by the International Buddhist Society for a dock at Grafton Bay. And the most recent megadock application is for Bowen Bay.

The dock bylaw we pushed so hard together to get in place last November should prevent the approval of the last two applications on the grounds of excessive length. We shall see.

In the meantime, municipal council has chosen to forget the docks. They have not proceeded, as promised, with the second phase of bylaw development, the phase that protects the beaches and foreshore in the public interest. While we wait to witness the further damage wrought by nature (“Nature bats last”), and to see how the four pending applications are decided, we are preparing for the next part of the fight: to ensure that the second phase of the bylaw is on the agenda to protect the public interest at Cape Roger Curtis.

Work resumed on Wednesday, February 12, on the dock at Pebble Beach, a public beach on Bowen. Also, surveying work and diving is in progress at Lot 6, at Arbutus Point. Two additional dock footings have been installed at Lot 15, at the Lighthouse. Both Lots 6 and 15 appear to be again for sale (MLS listings and new signage on the Lot 15 property). Possibly a dock is intended to add value in any real-estate flip. The developer and Lot 11 owner, Edwin Lee of Leeda Developments, has not commented publicly on public dismay at his construction.

Stop The Docks encourages Bowen Islanders to drive down to the Cape and see for yourself what is going on. Wakefield/Hanson Marine have typically fast-tracked this stage of construction, bringing a barge over in the early morning, pile-driving into the seabed all day, and working until dark. It may be your last opportunity to see Pebble Beach without a dock running through it.